優(yōu)質Unit4OfficePolitics

1、Unit 4 Office PoliticsOffice Politics ： Survival of the savvyBy Barb McEwenPolitical savvy is a vital competence for any executive, but it s not taught in leader-ship or grad school courses. In fact, the term “office politics ” has received a bad rap. (Words like “Machiavellian” , “manipulative”and“

2、 computational co”m to mind .)Tales of political sabotage, power plays and turf wars are part of any organizations history. Nonetheless, political competence is the one skill everyone wishes to have more of- but no one talks about it. When you ask people how they achieve results within their organiz

3、ations, they cite market analysis, strategic planning and brainstorming. They never mention politics.Until recently, few books explained how to use political competence to build one s career, improve a team s results or boost the company s bottom line. Samuel B. Bacharach, director of Cornell Univer

4、sity s Institute for Workplace studies, recently published Get Themon Your Side. Rick Brandon and Marty Selman have written Survival of the savvy: High-Integrity Political Tactics for Career and Company Success. Art Kleiner Weighs in with WhoReally Matters: The CoreGroup Theory of Power, Privilege,

5、and Success. These books shed light on this crucial competency, which every leader needs to master,Political competence is the“ability to understand whatyou can and cannot control, when to take action, who is going to resist your agenda, and whom you need side. It sabout knowing how to mapthe politi

6、cal terrain and get others on your side, as well as lead coalitions, ” according to Prof. Bacharach.Many individuals have good ideas that, if implemented, could yield positive results for their companies. Sometimes, these ideas fall flat because the leaders who propose them can-not gain support from

7、 key people. They are unsuccessful in building a coalition to bring an idea into practical use.A corporate version of survival of survival of the fittest exists, especially in though, competitive economic times. No one wants to admit that destructive politics and gamesmanship go on, but intense pres

8、sure to succeed drives some executive to use their political savvy to win by any means.Defining Political savvyIt s naive to suggest that all office politics are destructive and unethical, If you define politics in such anarrow and negative way, you overlook the value of political awareness and skil

9、l. If political astuteness is combined with the right values, it can be an advantage for you, your team and your organization.Organizational politics are informal, unofficial, and sometimes beh ind- the see nes efforts to sell ideas in flue nee an organization, increase power, or achieve other targe

10、ted objeetives, ” aeeording to Brandon and Seldman in Survival of the Savvy.In this definition, there is nothing either positive or negative about polities. The term is value-free. Whether organizational polities are destruetive or eonstruetive is determined by two eriteria:1. Whether the targetedob

11、jeetivesrefleet the eompanysinterests or merely ones self-interest2. Whether the influenee effortsused to aehieve theseobjeetives have integrityPolitieal savvy and skill ean help ethieal, eompetent leaders sell their ideas and influenee others to benefit the organizationIgnore at Your Own RiskThere

12、are several important reasons to aequire politiealsavvy:1. Ignoring its existence is akin to throwing the baby outastuteness isit can producepositiveresultsforyou,your team and yourwith the bathwater .When political combined with ethics and integrity, organization.2. By avoiding or denying its exist

13、ence, you underestimatehow political behavior can destroy careers, a company s reputation and overall performance.If you define politics in only negative terms, you are naively under-political, which leaves you vulnerable to overly political, self-serving individuals.You must develop political skill

14、s to survive and thrivein any organization. Overly political people can-and do-earn positions of power, and they can damage competent, loyal individuals who dont play their game. You need high-integrity political tactics to play a better game.It s far better to recognize that organizationalpolitics

15、exist in both constructive and destructive forms. There s simply no escaping it. That s why it s essential to learn how to use one s political savvy with integrity. Nonmanipulative tactics can help you harness the power of politics in a way that brings results. Political astuteness can be a characte

16、r virtue and a companyasset - if you learn to use it ethically.Three Phases of Political CompetencePolitical competence is a three-phase process. To bring people to your side, you must follow a systematic sequence. Otherwise, you manyspend too muchtime talking with people who dont need to be convinc

17、ed of your idea s merits. You mayalso fail to identify your chief opponents before they seize the opportunity to derail your efforts.1) Map Your Political TerrainFirst, identify all stakeholders-anyone who has an interest in, or whowould be affected by, your idea-and how they will react. Someresista

18、nce is inevitable. You must anticipate others reactions identify allies and resisters, analyze their goals and understand their agendas.When you face objections,dontgo toindividuals boosses or peers to undercut theirarguments.Instead, ask them questions to determine their goals. A stakeholder may sh

19、are your goal, but not your implementation approach; disagree with your goal. But share your approach to change; share neither; or share both. You can identify potential allies and resisters with direct questioning.2) Get Other on Your SideBuild your coalition a politically mobilized groupcommitted

20、to implementing your idea because doing so will generate valued benefits.Creating coalitions is the most critical step in exercising your political competence. Howdo you win support? You need to be credible. You communicate credibility by lettingpotentialallies and resisters know about your expertis

21、e, demonstrating personal integrity, and showing you have access to important people and information.Trough informal conversations, meeting and office drop-ins, you need to explain your position, keeping in mind four different motivational styles: Rati on al:Use statistics and nu mbers to convince d

22、ata-drive npeople how your proposal will save money, time or resources. Mimicking: Cite successful companies that have benefited from similar ideas when dealing with people who are interested inbest practices. Regulation: For those concerned about rules and compliance, show how your idea will help i

23、n these areas. Expectations: For those driven by a need to meet or exceed expectations, explain howyour proposal will please customers, shareholder and the community3) Make Things HappenYou must win others buy-in by making it clear there s a payoff for supporting your effort and drawbacks for not jo

24、ining your coalition. Show how implementing your idea will ease their workload, increase their visibility within the organization or help them cut costs in their unit.Once you ve persuaded people to join your coalition, youve established a base that will legitimize your idea. Coalition members will

25、then use their networks to evangelize for you.As the coalitiongrows, don tlose sight of the needfor active leadership to keep members focused and sustain momentum. Watch for complacency and manage conflicts and disagreements over goals or processes. These are inevitable and must be resolved.Masterin

26、g only certain parts of the three identifiedphase will not yield success. The following leadership archetypes sabotage themselves by failing to complete all three phases when attempting to generate and implementchange.The Political AnalystDont be fooled into thinking that astute politicalanalysts ha

27、ve high political competency. Analysts are skilled at anticipating other sreactions andunderstanding their agendas, but they can t get people to join their side.They re incapable of sustaining thedialogue and interactions necessary to build coalitions.They maytry to makethings happen, but mapping th

28、e terrainis only the first step and it s n ever eno ugh.The Consensus BuilderConsensus builders do their political mapping, understand the terrain of allies and resisters, and spend time build ing coalitio ns but they n ever seem to movebeyond this point. They re unable to mobilize supporters in a w

29、ay that makes things happen.Consensus builders have very strong process capabilities. The scale often tips in their favor because they can get people on board and they generally have a favorable reputation, which attracts resources and people.They also have the ability to prolong meetings, insisting

30、 that conferences are the solution to every problem. An organization with too many consensus builders will spend an amount of time meeting, discussing, evaluating and never really accomplishing much.Politically competent leaders map the terrain, get people on their side by building a coalition and lead the coalition to achieve results.Reducing Risk through PoliticsThese are risks with any course of action you take. You sometimes have incomplete or inadequate information when making a decision. Bu